


Information Retrieval

by Quagswagging



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Falling In Love, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, M/M, Memory Loss, Multi, Psychological Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-29
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2019-05-15 13:03:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14791013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quagswagging/pseuds/Quagswagging
Summary: Kimi works as an 'Information Retrieval' specialist (aka modern torturer), his next case is a German called Sebastian, but when Sebastian is already hurt before arriving at Kimi's workspace, Kimi decides to protect him instead.





	1. Mauerbauertraurigkeit

**Author's Note:**

> SOMEONE STOP ME FROM WRITING ALL THESE AU'S, I JUST CAN'T STOP
> 
> Loosely based on the novel "The Inquisitor" by Mark Allen Smith.
> 
> Mauerbauertraurigkeit= the inexplicable urge to push people you love away, even close friends and family

Kimi sighed as he sat cross-legged on his living room floor, looking at the printed file in front of him. He squinted at the small letters, most of it written in German, a language he was not very familiar with. Not that it mattered, he knew why this client had come to him and knew exactly what information he had to get from the Subject. 

Rubbing his hand over his face, he decided to just go with the flow as usual. He knew that most other ‘information retrieval’ experts liked to find out the subject’s fears and pressure points before any session, but Kimi never did. He had gotten used to seeing and understanding pressure points during the session, so there was no need for excessive preparation. Most fears, he had found, were universal, and under pressure, no one could hide their true emotions, making it easy for Kimi to read them. He momentarily traced the name of the Subject. 

S. Vettel wouldn’t have a clue what was about to happen to him. 

Someone softly knocked on the door and Fernando came sauntering in.

“Is time, going to pick up Client and Subject now.” The Spaniard told him. Kimi only spared him a glance and a brief nod. 

Fernando was the only social contact he had outside of the Clients and Subjects, which both probably wouldn’t be counted as social interaction by any sane person. Still, he knew fairly little about the Spaniard and he preferred to keep it that way. He only needed Fernando’s help with the bringing in of the Clients, as well as the business aspect of his job, he did not need a friend, he told himself. The closer he would be to Fernando, the more dangerous it would become for Fernando to work with him. Fernando seemed to understand and after initial tries to befriend Kimi, their interaction had become solely business-based, although Fernando still mentioned some personal stuff every once in a while, not quite used to the way Kimi didn’t speak much. 

“Warehouse 3, yeah?” Fernando asked, getting another nod in return. 

~~  
Kimi was on his way when Fernando called him, making Kimi frown. Fernando never called him this close to a session unless something was very wrong with the Client.

“Yeah?” he mumbled as he picked up,

“Kimi? We have a problem…” Fernando said, his voice sounding tight and almost pained. “Door has been brought down.” The Spaniard said quietly. It was obvious that they’re was someone else in the room with him. It wasn’t often they used it, but Kimi and Nando had settled for a few code sentences in case of emergencies and apparently, this was one of those cases.  
‘Door has been brought down’ meant the Subject was already hurt, which made the job incredibly hard for Kimi. The Finn cursed to himself.

“How bad.”

“It’s…It’s bad…” Fernando mumbled. 

“Client?”

“Left him to wait in the mirror room. I’m with the Subject.” 

“Stay with him, I’m almost there.” Kimi told him before hanging up. His mood had gone sour. He hated it when the Clients hurt the Subject before bringing him or her to Kimi. Contrary to popular belief, Kimi didn’t necessarily use pain and injury to get the information.

Coming into the Warehouse, Kimi winched at the sight of the Subject. He was bound to a chair, as was quite usual, blindfolded with a thick black cloth and gagged as well. His chest was bare and Kimi could see the angry cuts crisscrossing his pale skin. The man’s lip was split and his cheekbone bruised. He whimpered when Kimi came in, tensing his body. Fernando anxiously came up behind him. 

“What do we do?” the Spaniard asked, nervously hopping from foot to foot. Kimi sighed. 

“I’m going to talk to the Client. You put him in the car, be careful not to hurt him, he has three bruised ribs and a shoulder that was recently dislocated.” Kimi told Fernando, who didn’t even try to ask anymore how the hell Kimi knew all that by just a glance. Kimi leant down in front of the Subject for a moment.

“Sebastian? You are going to be moved. Don’t fight, it will only make things worse.” Kimi told him matter-of-factly. Sebastian whimpered through the gag, his head jerking back and away from Kimi. Kimi could see the man was trembling harshly and pursed his lips in disgust. It was pretty clear to him that the Client hadn’t hurt Sebastian solely to get information, this was the work of someone way more sadistic than that.

~~  
Kimi arrived at the van exactly 15 minutes after Fernando had helped Sebastian into the back. 

“What happened to the Client?” Fernando asked, Kimi steadfastly ignored his question. He wordlessly drove them back to the apartment, killing the engine before turning to Fernando.

“The Client has been taken care of for now. You are going home now and wait there until the commotion has died down. Meanwhile, I need for you to look someone up.” Kimi told Fernando, handing him a slip of paper. Fernando frowned.

“You’re sending me away now?” 

“For the time being, it’s safer that way.” Kimi answered, not looking at the Spaniard anymore.

“What happened to the Client?” Fernando stubbornly asked again “And who is this person you want me to find?” he said, waving the slip of paper in front of Kimi’s face to gain his attention again. Kimi let out a deep sigh.

“Let’s just say we don’t have to worry about the Client for the time being. The man you need to look for is the only one that can guarantee we never have to again.” Kimi said. Fernando let out a huff, clearly not convinced.

“Fine. I’ll call you when I have news, yes?” Fernando said. Kimi nodded, watching as Fernando got out of the car, his eyes following him down the street until he rounded a corner and disappeared from view. 

Kimi got out of the van as well, checking to see if the street was empty, it usually was, before opening the back of the van. Sebastian was huddled in a corner, his gag gone, but the blindfold and ropes around his arms and legs still in place. Kimi got in and knelt down, touching his shoulder. Sebastian yelped and tried to kick him, but Kimi jumped out of the way.

“I’m going to help you out of the car and into a house, in there I’ll take the blindfold off. Don’t try to do anything stupid.” He said, grabbing Seb’s shoulder, the one that had not been dislocated. Sebastian whimpered but didn’t protest, surprising Kimi by how meekly the German allowed him to lift him up and carry him into the apartment.  
“Sebastian? I’m gonna take the blindfold off now.” Kimi said gently when he had put Sebastian down on his living room floor, taking the black fabric between his fingers. Sebastian jerked his head away initially, but then allowed Kimi to pull it away. He blinked heavily, his breathing shuddering with fear. 

“Let me go!” his voice was barely even there, so hoarse it was hard to understand. Sebastian pulled on the restraints that were still on his hands and feet, but Kimi stopped him, taking his hands to start undoing the ropes. Sebastian pushed him off the moment the binds were off, scooting back on the floor until the his back was pressed against the wall. He undid the ropes around his legs himself with shaky fingers, glancing up at Kimi to make sure he stayed were he was. 

Kimi got up, walking over to the sink to fill a glass with water. When he turned back to Sebastian, the German was still watching him with fearful eyes, his arms crossed protectively over his already hurt chest. He sat slightly hunched over and Kimi could finally see his back had had the same treatment of lashes. 

“Why did you take me here?” Sebastian asked, his breathing still quick and ragged. Kimi calmly watched him.

“I don’t know.” He answered honestly. Sebastian blinked in surprise. Kimi slowly knelt down in front of him and handed him the glass. Sebastian drank greedily, the water soothing his raw throat so that when he spoke again, his voice was much louder.

“Who are you?”

“My name is Kimi.”


	2. Adronitis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adornitis: frustration with how long it takes to get to know someone.

Over the next few days, they settled into a comfortable rhythm of Sebastian asking loads of questions and Kimi avoiding them the best he could. During the day, Kimi went out, getting supplies and passing by Fernando to see if the Spaniard was safe, making sure Nando didn’t notice his concern. 

When he left, he kept all the doors and windows locked to ensure Seb couldn’t leave. It felt like he was holding him prisoner, and Sebastian told him often enough that was the way it felt as well, but he had no choice. If it was truly the organisation behind this all that Kimi had figured it would be, Sebastian was in grave danger.

Kimi still wasn’t sure what had pushed him to protect Sebastian. It wasn’t necessarily because he had been hurt already before the session, but there was something about the German that stirred something deep inside Kimi, something he seemed to have forgotten about a long time ago.

He had realised some time ago already that there were holes in his memories, parts of his life he simply could not remember. What his parents looked like, where he had grown up, what kind of education he had had, he simply didn’t know. He had learned to ignore it as much as he could, but flashes of memories still came back to him from time to time, paired but the heaviest headaches he had ever experienced. 

He shuddered just thinking about it as he pressed the key into the lock, opening the door with a sigh. He let out a groan as someone crashed into him, but reacted fast enough, tightly wrapping an arm around Sebastian’s waist as the German tried to push past him with a scared yell. 

“No.” Kimi said, pushing him back inside and kicking the door closed behind him. Sebastian struggled against him, nails digging into Kimi’s arms and drawing blood.

“Let me go! Please, let me go!” Sebastian screamed. When Kimi didn’t budge, Sebastian stumbled away, clutching at his chest as he tried to catch his breath. 

“You need to let me look at those wounds.” Kimi muttered, stepping closer. Sebastian held out his hand.

“Stay away from me! Or even better, let me go!” he snapped. Kimi sighed in frustration. 

“You go out there, you’ll die, they’ll find you.” he said. Sebastian paled.

“You don’t know anything.” the German said. Kimi sighed.

“Fia is after you.” he simply said. Sebastian tensed.

“How do you know?” he whispered, stumbling away from Kimi even further. Kimi sighed and turned to lock the door again, before passing Seb to continue further into the living room. Seb trailed after him, an unsure expression on his face as Kimi walked over to the sink to wash the blood from his arms.

“I was hunted by them as well, I think.” Kimi murmured as he dried his hands. Sebastian scoffed.

“You thínk you were hunted by them? Believe me, you’d know.” Kimi only shrugged in return. 

“You think you can keep me safe from them?” Seb asked, voice a lot quieter. Kimi shrugged again.

“For a while at least, yes.” he watched as Seb’s shoulders relaxed slightly. Kimi took a step closer.

“You need to let me clean those cuts on your back and stomach, they’re getting infected.” he told the German, slowly reaching out for him. Sebastian frowned and slapped his hand away.

“I can do it myself.” 

“Fine.” Kimi said, moving away to get some bandages and disinfectant, handing the items to Sebastian. The German scurried into the bedroom with a last glance at Kimi, who ignored him and sat down on the couch, the place where he had slept ever since he had brought Sebastian here. 

He tiredly rubbed his hand over his face, feeling another headache coming up. He tensed when the doorbell rang. He slowly got up from the couch, first walking over to the bathroom, and pushing it open, his eyes still trained on the front door. Sebastian made a surprised noise, his hand pressed against one of the cuts on his stomach, but Kimi shushed him.

‘Lock the door behind you, only come out when I tell you to.” Kimi told him.

“Why?” Sebastian asked anxiously. 

“I don’t think it’s the mailman who is ringing.” Kimi answered, before walking over to the front door when the bell rang for the second time. He waited for Sebastian to close the bathroom door, the lock closing with a click, before Kimi opened the door, stilling when he heard the familiar sound of a gun cocking. 

“Give us Vettel and nothing will happen.” a man said, a balaclava pulled over his face to hide his features.

“I got rid of him.” Kimi said with a shrug. “No need for me to keep the subjects after a session.” The gun was pressed more firmly against his temple as the man pushed past him into the apartment. 

“Show me where he is.” the man hissed. Kimi sighed and shrugged.

‘He’s on the bottom of the river by now.” he said. The man smacked the gun against Kimi’s temple, har enough for the Finn to stumble back, but not enough for him to go unconscious. 

“Don’t make this more difficult than it already is!” the man said. Kimi frowned when he saw the tremor in the man’s arm. This was no trained killer. 

“Who do they have?” Kimi asked. The man seemed confused. “Do they have a family member of you? Your parents? No, it’s your lover.” Kimi guessed, eying the man, who was slowly lowering the gun.

“It doesn’t matter, give me Vettel.” the man spat, but also his voice was shaking now. 

“I don’t have him anymore, I told you that.” Kimi said calmly, only glancing at the bathroom door briefly when he saw it slowly open. The man let out a shaky breath.

“Don’t lie!” he yelled. Kimi held his hands up as the man pointed the gun at his chest, trying not to look at the figure that was creeping closer behind the man. 

“I’m not lying, Sebastian is not here anymore.” he said slowly. Just as the man started to lower the gun, Sebastian come up behind him, smashing small glass vase against the back of the man’s head. The man went out immediately, dropping the gun as he fell in a heap on the ground. 

Sebastian made a dash for the gun, pointing it at the unconscious figure, his breathing ragged. Kimi stepped in front of him.

“Don’t, he doesn’t belong with them. They blackmailed him, they must have kidnapped someone he loves.” Kimi explained. Sebastian still frowned, not lowering the gun. 

“Seb…” Kimi tried again. Sebastian tensed his jaw but dropped the gun, Kimi quickly pushing it away with his foot. 

Sebastian stepped closer as Kimi knelt down in front of the unconscious man, removing the balaclava. Kimi took in a sharp breath, stumbling away when he saw the man’s face.

“What is it?” Sebastian asked in worry. Kimi glanced at him briefly, before staring at the man again.

“I think I know him.”


	3. Mamihlapinatapei

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mamihlapinatapei: The wordless, meaningful look shared by two people who both desire to initiate something, but are both reluctant to do so.

Kimi closed his eyes with a pained expression when it began. The pain always flared from the right side of his face, wrapping around his head until he felt like he was suffocating. He got up shakily to close the curtain, before curling up on the small couch.

Slowly but surely, the pain got worse, the feeling taking over all his other senses. Flashes of memories, of faces and places, voices and touches, made him wince.

Then he felt a careful hand on his shoulder, moving up to gently brush over his face. It was soothing in a way, Kimi supposed. The hand left his face and Kimi whimpered. Someone softly spoke to him but Kimi couldn’t make out the words.

When the person stayed away from him, Kimi got desperate. Struggling up, he moved over the couch, the room spinning around him. He took a step but lost his balance. With a harsh thud, he fell on the ground. He groaned, curling up the best he could. The hands came back to his face and Kimi almost sighed in relief.

Ever so carefully, he was pulled up and against a warm chest. Kimi instinctively buried his face against the warm skin. Someone was softly singing to him and Kimi felt himself calm down, the pain slowly going away.

Opening his eyes, Kimi lifted his head away from Sebastian’s shoulder, who was still intently watching him.

“Sorry.” He mumbled. Sebastian shook his head.

“Don’t apologize, it’s okay.”

Sebastian helped Kimi up onto his feet again, one arm securely wrapped around the Finn’s waist as he helped him to the bedroom.  
Kimi unceremoniously flopped down on the bed, burying his face in the pillow, which smelled like Sebastian. The bed dipped in beside him as Sebastian’s hand returned to card through his hair.

“What happened to you?” Kimi heard Sebastian whisper, before he drifted off into a dreamless sleep.  
~~  
When Kimi woke up, Sebastian was sitting on the bed next to him, his eyed tiredly fluttering closed from time to time as he stared outside. 

“Where is Valtteri?” Kimi said, voice hoarse. Seb looked down on him with a frown.

“Valtteri?” he asked. 

“The guy that came for you.” Kimi said. Sebastian gave him a concerned look.

“A Spanish guy - Fernando?- came to get him, you called him to do so.” Sebastian told him. Kimi closed his eyes for a moment.

“Ah yeah, must have taken him to the Warehouse then.” He murmured. Sebastian placed the back of his hand against Kimi’s forehead for a moment.

“Are you sure you’re okay? You seemed to be in a lot of pain.” Sebastian said. Kimi sat up, groaning as the room still spinned around him.

“I’m fine.” Kimi said dismissively as Seb reached out to steady him. The Finn leaned back against the headboard, struggling to keep his eyes open.

“How do you know Valtteri?” Sebastian asked. Kimi sighed.

“We grew up together…” he said, having to think hard to even remember. “I don’t know how he got dragged into this, but from what I remember of him, it could not have been his decision.” Kimi added decisively. Sebastian only nodded in return.

“I should go talk to him.” Kimi said, moving to get up. Sebastian’s hand on his shoulder stopped him.

“It’s the middle of the night and you’re obviously still unwell. Sleep more and go in the morning.” Sebastian pleaded. Kimi hesitated but nodded.

“Fine.” he murmured, not objecting as Sebastian helped him to lay down again. Sebastian’s fingers were softly massaging his scalp again and Kimi felt himself relax under the gentle touches.

“Why are you still awake?” Kimi suddenly murmured sleepily when he glanced at the alarm clock, showing him it was 3AM. Seb shrugged.

“I wasn’t sure if your… condition… could get worse, I was worried.” he said simply, but laid down as well. Kimi frowned a little, not really used to having people worry over him. He turned more onto his side, his eyes fluttering closed as Sebastian continued his gentle touches. 

“Thank you.”

~~

The next morning, Kimi woke up earlier than Seb, the German curled onto his aide next to him, one hand clutching on to Kimi’s forearm as he snored softly. Kimi watched him for a moment, looking at the way Seb’s long lashes were resting on his cheeks as he slept, and the soft curve of his slightly parted lips...

Kimi carefully untangled Seb’s hand from his arm and got up, briefly glancing over his shoulder before leaving the room to take a shower

When he left the bathroom, he found Sebastian in the living room, sitting cross legged on the sofa.

“Can I come with you?” Sebastian asked immediately when he saw the Finn. Kimi shook his head.

“It’s better if you don’t.” he said. Sebastian frowned, folding his arms over his chest.

“This is about me as well, that man came after me, I have the right to know what is going on.” he said grumpily.

“Sebastian...:”

“You can’t keep me here forever.” Seb snapped impatiently. Kimi went rigid, taking in a sharp breath but staying quiet otherwise. Sebastian breathed in deeply and stood up, walking closer to the Finn.

“I could have easily left yesterday, but I didn’t. I chose to stay because I understand now that the only chance of surviving this mess is if I stay with you.” he watched Kimi expectantly. 

“Fine.” Kimi said. “But when I tell you to go back, you go immediately, understood?”

“Understood.”


	4. Greng-jai

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Greng-jai: That feeling you get when you don't want someone to do something for you because it would be a pain for them.

Fernando had indeed brought Valtteri to the warehouse, putting him one of the several ‘Rooms’ Kimi used for his sessions. The man looked a little worse for wear, slumped against the wall, some blood pasting the hair at the back of his head together and a weary look which looked like it was caused by more than just that morning. 

Fernando stayed in the room with the man, pressing a rag to the cut in the back of his head as the man started to come to. Fernando knew Kimi would probably get angry at him for putting himself in danger like that - judging from the muscled arms and torso, Nando wouldn’t stand a chance in a fight against thus mystery man- but Sebastian had said Kimi seemed to know the man, although Nando still wasn’t sure whether that was positive or negative.

The moment the unknown man started to wake up, he also started to panic. The pain of the wound on his head combined with not knowing where he was, made him jerk away from Fernando’s touch. 

He yelled something in a strange language and fought as Nando held on to his wrists.

“Is okay! You’re safe!” Fernando tried. The man just stared at him with wide, pale blue eyes. He was still struggling and didn’t look like he was calming down.

“Kimi! Kimi will be here soon!” Fernando tried as a last resort. The man suddenly stilled, but was still tense. 

“You’re lying. He doesn’t remember me.” the man said, voice raspy. Fernando shook his head but was unsure what to say.

At that very moment, Kimi barged into the room, Sebastian scurrying in afterwards. Kimi glanced briefly at Fernando before kneeling down in front of Valtteri.

“Why are you here?” he demanded. Valtteri sighed, almost looking as if he would reach out for Kimi, but decided the better of it.

“I didn’t have a choice.” Valtteri said. He shifted and winched. Fernando pressed the towel back against the back of his head, eying Kimi with a concerned expression. Kimi’s mouth was set in a hard line and he was still staring at Valtteri. Sebastian knelt down behind him, touching his shoulder. This seemed to snap Kimi out of it, relaxing ever so slightly

“Do you… remember me.” Valtteri said, struggling to keep his eyes open. Kimi sighed and nodded.

“Yes.” he answered, earning a gentle smile from the hurt man. Surprising everyone present in the room, Kimi reached out to gently brush his fingers over Valtteri’s cheek.

“We’ll talk later, you need to rest.” Kimi mumbled. “Fernando, you can bring the camp bed in here, and stay around to make sure he’s okay, yeah?” he told the Spaniard, who blinked in surprise but nodded. 

With a last glance at Valtteri; Kimi promptly stood up and left the room again, Seb jogging after him. The Finn seemed distressed, pacing around the small office. 

“How do you know him?” Sebastian asked. Kimi sighed.

“We grew up together, in an orphanage.” he answered. 

“Ah… but you seemed surprised you recognised him at all?” Seb asked. 

“Memory loss.” Kimi suddenly snapped out. “I remember almost nothing from my past. I didn’t remember him until I saw him yesterday.” he tiredly wiped a hand over his face. Seb was unsure how to respond.

“But… why would he threaten you and come for me?” he asked eventually.

“I don’t know… I really don’t.” Kimi frowned. “But I trust him, I have to. He can tell us more about what is going on.” Sebastian nodded. 

“I should just go, hand myself in to Fia, this is putting you all in danger.” he whispered. Kimi caught his wrist. 

“No. We can keep you safe. And Fia would still go after me, they always have.” Kimi said, a weary look in his eyes. Seb frowned.

“What happened to you?” he blurted out. Kimi let go of his hand, his eyes widening slightly.

“It doesn’t matter.” he answered shortly, refusing to meet Seb’s eye. “Stay in the building… I need to…” he didn’t finish his sentence and almost bolted out of the room. Sebastian could only stare after him.

~~

Sebastian decided to go to Valtteri, knowing that was his only chance of finding out more about Kimi.

The man looked a little surprised to see Seb entering the makeshift hospital room. He was awake, but it was clear he was still in pain.

“H-hi… I’m Seb, but I think you knew that..?” he started as he sat down on the plastic chair next to Val’s bed. Valtteri nodded slowly

“Yeah, they showed me pictures so I could find you… sorry about that by the way.” he smiled apologetically. Seb shrugged and nodded.

“Yeah let’s forget about that… I just… I came to ask you about Kimi” Seb said hopefully. Valtteri nodded.

“He’s a good man.” he told him. “He’ll keep you safe.” Seb sighed.

“Yeah but he also abducted me, so excuse me if I don’t fully trust him yet.” he answered. Valtteri smiled.

“He told you we grew up together right?” he asked. Seb nodded. “I was only 4 when I was brought to the orphanage, Kimi must have been 12. I was scared, a lot, and he just sort of took me under his wing. The owners of the orphanage weren’t very nice people, but he always protected me from them. Even when he turned 18 and had to leave the home, he came back to protect me.” Valtteri said. Seb frowned.

“Then what happened?”

“One day, he just… disappeared, gone. I tried to find him, but it was useless. Then, years after that all happened, Fia suddenly shows up at my door, tells me Kimi is still alive but suffered memory loss, and if I helped retrieve you, they would restore his memories and let him live.” Valtteri explained. Seb nodded thoughtfully, leaning back a little in his chair. 

Fernando came back into the room again, nodding at Seb before busying himself checking Valtteri’s bandages. Valtteri winched as Fernando’s hand pressed over the cut.

“Sorry…” Sebastian mumbled awkwardly. Valtteri huffed out a laugh.

“It’s okay, quite understandable really.” he said. Sebastian nodded. Fernando handed Valtteri some painkillers.

“Kimi left, so I guess that means we just have to wait here for him to get back.” Fernando mumbled. Valtteri looked down at his hands.

“If he comes back.” he mumbled softly.


End file.
